The communication preceding Ottawa’s modest belt tightening is now well underway. MPs have been told that they will see their salaries frozen. There were no free tickets for government MPs at the Olympics. The government is reducing by 10% the number of appointments to government boards and committees. Soon it will be macaroni and cheese in the lobby of the House of Commons where MPs, stuck on house duty, get a free meal for their troubles.
The savings are small, or even non-existent when it comes to Olympic tickets, but the message is clear-we expect government to lead the way by example. In fact the numbers being as small as they are make it a lot easier for regular people to relate to.
Their timing is good too. Unless I miss my guess Canadians aren’t far behind the Americans right now in wanting the practical, local and affordable as opposed to big schemes, big government and big daddy in Ottawa deciding it all.
Leading by example also sets the stage for tough negotiations with the Canadian public service. The government needs the public service to get in line and, now that the ground work has been laid, Treasury Board Minister Stock Day is well suited to do the job. He is the tough but likeable face of fiscal restraint.
Where the government could still make headway in finding savings is by changing the discussion from reductions in order to balance the budget, to making sure taxpayers are getting value for their money. Most Canadians quite rightly expect that out of a $200 billion dollar budget there will be at least a few programs that aren’t getting the job done. By definition that means they should be eliminated.
However if the government does move forward with any further initiatives they will again need to lay the groundwork. As they found out on the national anthem debacle, you don’t get credit for solving problems if the public doesn’t believe there’s a problem to begin with.
